What is Forensic Document Examination?
Questioned document examination (QDE) is the forensic science discipline pertaining to documents that are (or may be) in dispute in a court of law. The primary purpose of questioned/forensic document examination is to answer questions about a disputed document using a variety of scientific processes and methods. Many examinations involve a comparison of the questioned document, or components of the document, to a set of known standards. The most common type of examination involves handwriting wherein the examiner tries to address concerns about potential authorship.
A document examiner is often asked to determine if a questioned item originated from the same source as the known item(s), then present their opinion on the matter in court as an expert witness. Other common tasks include determining what has happened to a document, determining when a document was produced, or deciphering information on the document that has been obscured, obliterated or erased.
The discipline is known by many names including forensic document examination, document examination, diplomatics, handwriting examination, or sometimes handwriting analysis, although the latter term is not often used as it may be confused with graphology. Likewise a forensic document examiner is not to be confused with a graphologist, and vice versa.
Do you have a document you suspect has been forged or illegally created or altered? I can help you find the answer to your question. You need to find out the truth as soon as you can because we never know how far someone will go with a crime once they have started. Some of the situations I deal with regularly include forged checks, forged or altered wills, deeds, anonymous writing, legal contracts, medical records and other documents.
Please take a moment to call me to discuss your case because I will give a quick, honest, professional opinion about your situation, and direct your next recommended step. I can usually provide you with a verbal opinion within 48 hours. Because I work regularly with other document examiners, another document examiner can examine your documents at your request and possibly provide you with a second opinion at a reduced rate.
Most cases are settled out of court because of a document examiner's official "Letter of Opinion". If your case does go to court I can be your expert witness. My fees are among the lowest in the industry; always fairly billed, no surprises. Because you are probably worried or just plain mad about your situation, call me now. I'm sure you have already spent a lot of time and energy wondering what to do, so let's get to work!